Public Land and Trails

[PoorMansWrangler]

Hey everyone, long time lurker here. I am hunting a piece of public land this fall in Ohio. Not to name this piece, but this parcel is divided up into many sections, all centered around a main lake. This summer I spent a ton of time scouting, and found some decent spots. However, this parcel has a ton of hiking/horse trails through it. You can essentially walk through the majority of these pieces centered around the lake on these mowed trails/horse trails. The wooded areas around these trails are very thick and nasty, and I have spooked deer bedded off these trails. The public land does have crops, and sees heavy dove and pheasant pressure through the fall since the ODNR does drops there. I have not ran into anyone scouting there this summer, but I have found some stands and old hunter sign. Does anyone have any advice on how to tackle these trails, and how these trails effect movement though the fall? These trails provide great access, you can walk the entire length of some of these parcels just walking the trails. Any advice on how to tackle these? Thank you!

[BigStick]

I think your best bet is to find the overlooked spots that don’t see any human pressure. Bucks may be in a spot that they can monitor the trails but if people are letting the dogs run free while hunting or hiking, the bucks are most likely somewhere else. In my experience the deer won’t be in the areas that pheasant hunters walk regularly, even if they can hide from humans, dogs will often range much further and push them out.

You can certainly use the trails to your advantage since the deer will be comfortable with human scent on them. If possible you could walk them and try to find cut a track and follow it back to the bedding. Might need to wait for rain or snow to follow better. If you can find hot sign while walking the trails that might be your ticket.

[Barker]

Thats my biggest problem I run into in Ohio too. Most public lands are broken up into a few hundred acre chunks. They usually have access from multiple points and theres the mowed horse trails throughout that make access to anywhere pretty easy. I hunt all over the state and dnr seems to use this same plan for every area. I typically don't have a problem getting on the younger deer that aren't schooled from all the pressure but the older bucks are difficult though. Best advice is to pay attention to other hunters and try to find those places they don't go.

[elk yinzer]

Killed my best bow buck about 50 yards off a major thru-hiking trail. It's a bedding area for a good buck just about every year and it's right adjacent to many doe beds for the rut. Deer don't regard granola hikers as much of a threat as long as they stay where they expect them to be. If you play it right it can make for awesome access. But in areas with a ton of hunting pressure it may not be the right play.

[Josh_S]

Public trails are useful for getting from point A to point B quickly and quietly. Be aware of where they are, and if it makes sense use them to your advantage to access bedding areas you plan to hunt. For example, if there is a trail at a high elevation use it to your advantage to access any bedding below the trail on an afternoon hunt. Thermals would be in your favor pulling your scent up the hill, while any bedded bucks are more than likely facing downhill looking for any danger.

They are also great for speed scouting. You can cover a lot of ground quickly and based on what you see from a distance determine if its worth diving into deeper or just a waste of time. I think its safe to say most hikers stay on the trail and don't go into thick areas where deer would bed.

What you are describing sounds very familiar to public I have hunted. As others have mentioned, the small broken up parcels are often overlooked and less pressured. It sounds like have many options and an open mind, so that's a good thing. Don't be afraid to think outside the box and do what everybody else is NOT doing.

[oldrank]

I have shot ALOT of deer just off a human trail. If you can't avoid them the deer can't either.

[headgear]

Killed my best bow buck about 50 yards off a major thru-hiking trail. It's a bedding area for a good buck just about every year and it's right adjacent to many doe beds for the rut. Deer don't regard granola hikers as much of a threat as long as they stay where they expect them to be. If you play it right it can make for awesome access. But in areas with a ton of hunting pressure it may not be the right play.

Found a couple of spots last spring that were exactly like this, one bed 75 yards off a road and another 50 yards off a trail. Find where the bucks are monitoring you and you will find the beds. Think of places no hunter or trail walker would ever dream to go, find the gaps where no humans are leaving scent and you will find the bucks.

[matt1336]

Pressure often creates opportunity. Find a place where a buck can observe the horse and hiker people yet still not be bothered.

[Evanszach7]

I hunt a few OH pieces with the same set up. Some of the best bedding I’ve found are bucks monitoring these trails. I tend to avoid using them within 300-400 yards of my end point, however I do have a few spots where I’m circling around and hunting a bed pretty close to the trail. Best bet I’ve found is using my jon boat for access.

[Dpierce72]

I remember hunting blind one evening. I set up and stewed all afternoon because I was 75 yards from a hiking trail (hadn't reviewed maps as I should have) and watched people all afternoon. Kept telling myself to get down, the hunt is over. Just about sunset, the magic started to happen. it was as if that trail and those people didn't exist.

It's more frustrating to me to have the human encounters but in areas they expect that level of intrusion, I'm not convinced it destroys the hunt. That was one very specific example that was an 'ah ha' moment for me.

[headgear]

Pressure often creates opportunity. Find a place where a buck can observe the horse and hiker people yet still not be bothered.

Yep and don't forget escape routes, seems like most of my overlooks spots have a big swamp nearby so if they need to bolt they have a great place to hide. That will obviously be different in hill country.

[Twenty Up]

I’ve seen Bucks bed to where they smell everything on a trail behind them and watch a parking lot or major access area. Or vice versa..

Match those two with an area that’s extremely thick nearby for an escape route and you’ve got that dang Buck Triangle

[G-Patt]

Hey everyone, long time lurker here. I am hunting a piece of public land this fall in Ohio. Not to name this piece, but this parcel is divided up into many sections, all centered around a main lake. This summer I spent a ton of time scouting, and found some decent spots. However, this parcel has a ton of hiking/horse trails through it. You can essentially walk through the majority of these pieces centered around the lake on these mowed trails/horse trails. The wooded areas around these trails are very thick and nasty, and I have spooked deer bedded off these trails. The public land does have crops, and sees heavy dove and pheasant pressure through the fall since the ODNR does drops there. I have not ran into anyone scouting there this summer, but I have found some stands and old hunter sign. Does anyone have any advice on how to tackle these trails, and how these trails effect movement though the fall? These trails provide great access, you can walk the entire length of some of these parcels just walking the trails. Any advice on how to tackle these? Thank you!

I know I'm late to the discussion on this, but I too hunt Ohio public land with the lake being the main feature. I've had success using the horse and hiking trails that get me close to heads of ravines and ridges (that to go the main lake). The heads of these ravines create a funnel for the deer to move around, and there's usually bedding very close by. What I'll do is take the horse or hiking trail to an access point close to the heads of these ravines and make a ground set there. Especially during the rut, bucks will walk by these heads downwind of the bedding area that is close by. Set up on these spots downwind from where you think the buck will walk in late October thru rut, and you'll see good buck movement. Good luck. Hope you kill a big one next season.

[GWsaddleuser]

Killed my best bow buck about 50 yards off a major thru-hiking trail. It's a bedding area for a good buck just about every year and it's right adjacent to many doe beds for the rut. Deer don't regard granola hikers as much of a threat as long as they stay where they expect them to be. If you play it right it can make for awesome access. But in areas with a ton of hunting pressure it may not be the right play.

My thought....probably not worth much.
Deer are used to the traffic as long as the traffic stays where it always is.
I new loan old man that walked his path everyday while the walnut trees were dropping. He had a walking cane and an aluminum bucket to place the walnuts in. I could hear him coming down the ridge throwing the walnuts in the bucket (clank, clank).
I asked him if he got to see deer often while doing that, his words were, "Every Day, those deers won't run off, standing there watching me".
I learned that if deer are used to "IT", "IT" don't matter to them.